Cycling in Marin: Greenbrae family have turned into winning off-road team

INVOLVED SPORTS PARENTS are not uncommon in Marin. Most of them are interested in their kids' activities, shuttle them to practice and offer off-the-cuff coaching. It's rare, though, for those parents to decide to compete in the sport themselves and start winning awards of their own.

But that's exactly what Liz, 48, and Mike Pinsker, 43, of Greenbrae, did.

"We had a really hard time sitting and watching," Liz said.

When Mike, a contractor, and Liz, who works for a medical supply company, first began dating they were both active bikers and skiers. And she already had two kids, Ben and Griffin Spurr. It only made sense then to start taking the kids biking.

"They were doing laps at China Camp when they were 5 or 6 years old," Mike said. "People were blown away."

Of course, getting a 5-year-old to bike the China Camp loop is no small feat. It took bribes and promises of candy, but the family got it done.

"It wasn't easy at the beginning," Liz said.

Then, the family started trying out races. In 2008, the four of them did an eight-hour mountain bike relay race at Kirkwood and won, even though the kids were in junior high and were competing against teams of adults. Each year after that, Ben and Griffin got faster and the Spurr-Pinsker team won by more.

When the two kids started at Marin Catholic High, they joined the mountain bike team. Ben, 16 and a junior, has become a member of the Whole Athlete Specialized Junior Development team and took seventh in the 15 to 16 age group at the national championships this year. Griffin, 15 and a sophomore, took second at his very first high school NorCal mountain bike race as a freshman and qualified for nationals, but a series of issues set him back the rest of his year.

First, he had sleep apnea, which went undiagnosed for months. Sleep apnea stops a person's breathing during the night and prevents them from sleeping. After getting the problem finally diagnosed, he headed out for a ride the first week out of school and broke his heel — not an easy feat, Liz said.

Then, in his first race back from the broken heel, he crashed and had to get seven staples in his head.

He's not the only one in the family, though, who had his share of problems. Ben had a very serious concussion his freshman year and had to take a month off from school and five months off from biking. Mike had seven knee surgeries from 2007 to 2011. And, Liz has Graves diseases — a condition that required her to have her thyroid removed.

But, they can't imagine doing anything else. Learning to overcome obstacles is just part of the challenge.

"You learn from your mistakes," Ben said.

Once Ben and Griffin started racing seriously, Mike and Liz couldn't help wanting to get involved too. Soon, they were competing themselves and winning.

Mike won his first mountain bike race and qualified for cross-country mountain bike nationals, so they could make the trip as a family. Earlier this summer, the whole family also headed up to Oregon to support Mike and Liz as they competed in marathon mountain bike nationals — an exhausting 52-mile race — where Mike took 17th in the 40 to 44 age division and Liz took third in the 40 to 49 age group.

Susan Van Liere, their long-time neighbor, jokes that at first she saw lots of pictures of Ben and Griffin racing on Facebook. Then, the pictures and updates started to include the parents.

"Next thing I know, I'm getting these things about them on the podium," Van Liere said.

The family supports each other and has made their lifestyle a part of who they are — taking trips together and riding together when they can.

"I don't think we've gone to Hawaii or anywhere we can't ride our bikes, because it's such a big part of our lives," Liz said.

"They have such a great family dynamic of working hard and playing hard together," Van Liere said.

A biking marathon

Mountain bike marathon nationals in Bend, Ore., included a number of Marin locals winning on the 52-mile course. Dario Frederick of San Anselmo won the 40 to 44 age group. Carl Sanders, Lagunitas, was ninth and Sandor Lengyel, San Anselmo, was 12th in the same division. John Hunt, of Fairfax, was third in the 45 to 49 age division. Nate Helming of Larkspur took 11th and Jeff Stern of Mill Valley took 12th in the 19 to 29 age group. Matt McCourtney of Woodacre took fifth in the 30 to 34 age group. Willem Vanderwerff of Mill Valley was 15th in the 35 to 39 age division. Kevin Weitz, San Rafael, was fifth in the 60 to 69 category and Charlie Wirtz, Forest Knolls, was 7th.

Helene Drumm, from San Anselmo, won the women's 40 to 49 age group. Fredde Foster, Mill Valley, was second in the women's 50-plus age division.